The Tampa Bay region kicked off Q2 in a big way, securing major partnerships, top talent and more. We've got the full rundown of what you may have missed below. To make sure you stay in the loop, subscribe to our tech and startup newsletter here.
The moves
• COhatch, the Central Ohio chain of coworking spaces, announced it will be moving to three new locations in the Tampa metro area — St. Petersburg, West Tampa and Lakeland. See the spaces and learn more here.
• CodeBoxx, the Canadian coding company that told us last year it was moving to the region, made it official. The company will be settling in the Thrive DTSP building located on 4th Street North, thanks to a partnership with the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce and St. Pete Greenhouse.
• QuoteWizard Insurance Solutions, a branch of Seattle-based LendingTree, announced April 13 it will be opening a Medicare-focused office in Tampa. The fintech company is expected to bring roughly 100 jobs to the region. LendingTree officials told Tampa Bay Inno the company wanted to open an office in Tampa to establish an east coast presence. It will be moving into a 20,000-square-foot space near the Pinecrest West Park area, just past Tampa International Airport.
The launches
• Wherewithal, a company with a focus on a patent-pending bra, officially launched to the public on April 20. The two co-founders first began to build the company in 2018, then called Fruutfull, after both left their full-time jobs at HSN. Get their full story.
• Tampa fintech company vigtec.io emerged from stealth mode April 27. The company was founded by Jonathan Gibbons, who previously founded Compass HRM that was later sold in a $6 million deal. Get vigtec's full story.
The partnerships
• Chattr, an artificial intelligence-powered software focused on making hiring easier in the retail, restaurant and hospitality industries, secured a one-year partnership with Bealls Inc. It is the first major partnership for the Tampa-based startup, whose technology will help streamline the hiring and onboarding process for Bealls. Learn more.
• Tampa-based public company Masonite entered into an agreement with doorbell technology company Ring for new, patent-pending technology. The Ring video is embedded and powered directly through the door. Learn more.
• Tampa-based blockchain startup BlockSpaces teamed up with the University of South Florida to submit a house bill in the Florida Senate. The request is for $1 million, and would be used to address food insecurity in St. Petersburg. Get the full details on the bill here.
The acquisitions
• Edtech startup Script was acquired for an unknown amount by North Carolina-based EMS LINQ Inc. on April 21. Script's CEO Aaron White will become LINQ's senior director of product, focusing on Script. Get the full story on why the company decided to take the deal.
• Clearwater-based Digital Media Solutions acquired Fort Lauderdale-based Crisp Marketing LLC for an undisclosed amount. Both are providers in the digital advertising space.
• Tampa's Spectrio acquired California-based Enplug for an undisclosed amount. Spectrio is a marketing tech company with a focus on digital signage.
• Clearwater-based DocuPhase acquired Clearwater Payments (which is not based in Clearwater and is headquartered in Dallas) for an undisclosed amount. This is the second acquisition for DocuPhase this year, which has invested over $3M in tech since 2020.
• Tampa-based Katz Acquisition Corporation LLC acquired Illinois-based Camp Grove Bancorp Inc. for an undisclosed amount. Camp Grove Bancorp is the parent company of Camp Grove State Bank.
The promotions
• Tampa cybersecurity firm ReliaQuest named Alex Bender as its chief marketing officer. He has worked for cyber brands including Archer Technologies, RSA and Tripwire.
• DataLink Software, a Tampa-based health care software company, named Lynn Mettler as its chief technology officer. He previously served as chief delivery officer for Ingenious Med, an Atlanta-based medtech company.
• Marpai Health, a Tampa-based health care company that's powered by AI, hired two new C-level executives. Ronnie Brown, formerly a VP of client services at Inetico (currently Valenz Health), will take over as the new COO. Art Hoath, formerly an SVP of sales and marketing at Advanced Medical Pricing Solutions, will serve as the new chief revenue officer.
• TeamViewer, a Clearwater-based digital solutions provider for the workspace, appointed Lisa Agona as its CMO. Agona previously served in leadership roles at Accenture and LexisNexis.
• St. Petersburg-based iQor appointed Prabhjot Singh as its chief digital officer. Singh previously served at the company, which provides managed services for business process outsourcing solutions.
